SMB: Creatures of the Night
by Captain Cook
Summary: The Mushroom Kingdom appears to finally be at peace, until Bowser gets his hands on something very dangerous... Please review this crap after reading it.
1. BLOCK 1: Down the Drain

**-AUTHOR'S NOTES-**

This is my first official fanfic, based on a fangame idea I conceived a month ago. Hope you guys enjoy it.

And yes, it is a Mario + CV fanfic. It just won't be obvious until later.

(Most recent revision (not including new chapters) was Dec. 4, 2010, where parts of Blocks 2, 3, and 4 were edited to improve clarity.)

**-BLOCK 1: Down the Drain-**

For a long time, Bowser has kept to the pattern of kidnapping Princess Peach over and over again, followed by the Mario Brothers coming to save her. It had become a routine so normal that Bowser was inexplicably invited to the various go-karting cups the kingdom held from time to time. Many would wonder why the Mushroom Kingdom officials haven't put some effort into making the nation's defenses more effective.

Currently, it seems that Bowser has finally learned his lesson, as it has been some time since his last attack.

So it appeared... until this fateful night, where a power unknown to the Mario Brothers would rear its ugly, unholy head...

We now move on to Mario's Pad, a house quite separated from the rest of the Mushroom Kingdom. It isn't the most luxurious of houses, but it is quite cozy.

Off in the distance, a mushroom retainer runs towards the house, with a distressed look on his face.

"Seems like another uneventful night," Mario said.

Luigi responded, "I wonder if Bowser's finally learned his lesson?"

"Not likely," Mario replied.

The brothers both hear a loud knocking at their door.

"Now who could that be?" Mario thought as he opened the door.

"Mario! We have a problem here! The castle is under attack!" Toad said.

"Oh, no! We gotta get there quick!" Mario said. "Luigi, are you coming?"

"Yeah. We should probably go through the sewers. It'll make getting there much faster."

"Good idea. Let's-a go!"

But before leaving, Mario suddenly had the inexplicable thought of taking a golden locket with him. The locket contained a picture of him and the princess, taken after her previous rescue.

And so, Toad and the Mario Bros. entered the pipe to the sewers. Huh. Having an underground level as the first stage is kind of unusual.

Not much had changed since it was visited during the events of Paper Mario. It was still very wet, dark, absurdly spacious, and teeming with various underground enemies. The monsters, however, failed to pose much of a threat to our trio.

Shortly after entry, the group was ambushed by a few pesky Koopa Paratroopas and Goombas. The first strike was upon Luigi, looking back just a little too late and having a shell fly right into his face.

"OOF!" Luigi yelled as he lost his footing and fell onto the ground.

"Didn't expect us coming, did ya?" said the smug Paratroopa. "Unfortunately for you, your progress ends here under orders from Lord Bowser!"

"How about I just clip off your wings?" Mario said as he jumped at the fiend.

"ACK!" The Paratroopa cried as he was stomped, thus losing his wings. Mario followed that with another bounce, forcing the nuisance into its shell. Mario then kicked the shell, taking out one of the Goombas who were for some reason standing there like idiots. The shell then fell into a nearby pit.

The remaining two Goombas charged at Luigi, but he, being recovered from the last blow, stomped both of them with ease. Toad, however, was being harassed by the other two Koopas, who were apparently much more skilled at dodging than the last. Seeing a ? block nearby, he smashed it and, strangely enough, found a vegetable come out of it. Having picked it up, he felt he had gained the ability to conjure vegetables as throwing items.

He quickly put this to use, throwing two of them to hit one of the Koopas, then three to hit the other. Both were incapacitated upon being hit.

"Well, that was an interesting power-up," Toad said. He tried to do it again, but failed. "Huh? Could I have used it up so quickly?"

The anthropomorphic fungus then saw that there were more ? Blocks, and then subsequently hit them. Out of the first came a small heart, which strangely seemed to give him a single use of his new ability. The next block contained a larger heart, which seemed to have an effect equivalent to 5 small hearts.

"Well, this is weird," Toad said. The Mario Brothers, having cleaned up the other monsters, joined him.

"Strange. I wonder what's in the other blocks?" Mario asked before hitting one. Out of it came the iconic Fire Flower, which Toad oddly could not use (though Mario and Luigi could).

"Well, this is intriguing," Mario said to himself. "Oh well, moving on!"

Mario then took the Fire Flower for himself. Luigi managed to find a Hammer in another ? Block, which again Toad could not use. As the only plumber without a sub-weapon, he took it for himself.

After experimenting a bit more, the trio came to what was the pipe to Toad Town. However, a strange familiar foe had blocked the entrance.

"My, did someone bring me a fungal treat?" said the four-eyed monstrosity with a tongue comparable to a fire hose. "Oh, but you shouldn't have!"

"Belome!" Mario exclaimed.

"Haven't I seen you before? Well, no matter. I gladly accept your offering."

"That thing wants to EAT ME?" Toad shouted. "Well, eat _THIS_, four eyes!"

Toad then threw a vegetable at Belome's face, thus starting the first boss battle.

**BOSS 1: PERPETUALLY HUNGRY BEAST: BELOME**

"Ack! Such bitter vegetables!" Belome shouted, reeling from the botanical barrage. This was soon followed by a stomp from both of the bros.

Quickly recovering, the monster caught Mario in his tongue and dragged him into his mouth, much to Luigi's horror.

"Nooo! MARIO!" Luigi despairingly shouted, jump kicking Belome right between the eyes. The blow forced him to spit Mario out.

"There we are!" Belome said smugly, generating a clone of Mario from... uh, let's not go into detail there.

"WHA? Which Mario is Mario?" Luigi said in surprise. The question was answered when the clone promptly jumped at him.

"All enemies of Belome must be stopped!" said the clone before being attacked by the original Mario. Luigi and Toad continued to pummel the beast with sub-weapons while Mario dealt with his clone.

"There can only be one Mario!" shouted the clone.

"Well, if you insist..." Mario responded as he lobbed a fireball, setting the clone's pants on fire. The clone quickly jumped into a nearby stream of water, dousing himself. He then jumped back into the frey, soaking wet and slightly smelly.

"You smell like crap," Mario noted. "Are you sure you want to continue this?"

"You'll pay for that!" The clone exclaimed as he threw a punch, which Mario dodged. Mario then countered by grappling his legs. He swung him around in circles until he got a good enough speed, then tossed him at the wall. The impact knocked him out immediately, and the clone's body disappeared in a puff of smoke shortly after landing.

"Well, I guess I'm the one Mario. Poor thing."

Meanwhile, the mighty Belome was suffering from an onslaught of hammers and vegetables. As Mario got back to the rest of the party, he finally gave up fighting, deciding that the oversized mushroom wasn't worth it.

"Even if you defeat me, you STILL won't beat me!" Belome said as he fled, hopping away into the water.

"He bit off more than he could chew," Toad said.

"Glad that's over. What happened to the clone?" Luigi asked.

"I threw him at a brick wall, and he disappeared in a puff of smoke," Mario replied. "Can't say I don't feel sorry for him, though. Anyway, moving on..."

That being said, the trio entered the pipe that would take them to Toad Town.


	2. BLOCK 2: Toad Town Troubles

**-BLOCK 2: Toad Town Troubles-**

When they emerged from the pipe, the trio knew something was very wrong. The townspeople were fleeing as helpless sheep before the onslaught of monsters, both known and unknown.

"What the...?" Mario said.

"Toad Town's being overrun by monsters! We have to put an end to this quickly!" Toad exclaimed.

"The castle can wait. I think we need to bring this situation under control first," Luigi suggested.

The team agreed, and sought to clear the town of all monsters. A few ? Blocks nearby gave the group a heart refill and a never-before-seen boomerang cross, which Mario took. But no upgrade would prepare them for their first fight on the surface.

As they marched toward the castle, immediately what appeared to be... oh dear... Toad Zombies impeded their progress. Their rotting corpses shambled towards the trio. Their appearances ranged from recently deceased to horribly rotten, with skinless faces dripping disease-ridden blood.

"ZOMBIIIIEEEEESSS!" Luigi shrieked.

"And they're coming for us!" Toad said.

"Wait! Stop! This is Mario you're trying to get brains from!" Mario pleaded.

"They're mindless zombies! They won't listen to what you say!" Toad said. "We have only one choice: put them out of their misery."

Mario took out many of them with a well-used cross. Toad, quickly noticing the zombies behind them, turned and slaughtered some with vegetables. Luigi cowered for a few seconds, but promptly snapped out of it just before one of them was to snack on his head, countering by stomping on the animated corpse.

Though a bit grieved, Mario saw the potential power of the cross sub-weapon and decided to keep it for a while. A few more ? blocks revealed a bottle of holy water, which Luigi took, and a Stopwatch (which was the only thing everyone could find a use for), which Toad took. It appeared to consume five hearts upon use, but stopped most enemies for a short period of time.

Shortly after, more zombies came out of the ground.

"Um... how are we supposed to cleanse the city when the zombies just keep coming?" Luigi asked.

"You know, maybe we should just RUUUNNN!" Toad exclaimed, using the stopwatch. The trio decided that getting to the heart of the matter was better than constantly fighting zombies, so the cleanup plan was dumped in favor of storming the castle.

As they were going, they noticed that a few of the houses were on fire. Unfortunately, Toad's was one of them, along with the local blood bank. The fire department was unavailable, presumably overrun by zombies.

"MY HOUSE! WHO SET IT ON FIRE?" Toad screamed.

"Wow, tough luck. What happened to the fire department?" Luigi said.

"They're probably being harassed by zombies, too..." Mario remarked. "There's not much we can do at this point; it looks like it's already taken severe damage from the fire. We'll help you guys get a place to stay... but we have to put a stop to this first."

A few human skeletons were spread out along the path which were quite annoying due to the bones they threw. But then, dealing with them wasn't too much of a problem because Hammer Bros. fight similarly. More zombies popped up, but the team evaded them.

They then finally reached the castle, now standing right before the castle's moat. As they attempted to walk past the bridge, however...

**BOSS 2: ONE EYED MONSTER: CYCLOPS**

A cyclops blocked their path. This cyclops had a large mallet grasped with both of its hands, which it promptly used to hammer Mario a few feet into the ground. The stopwatch did not appear to affect this beast, much to Toad's dismay; Thus Luigi was given the task of distracting it while Toad put Mario back together.

"Mario! Get up out of the ground!" Toad said as he pulled Mario's head.

"Oh... stars... so beautiful... wheeeeee!" Mario responded.

"Snap out of it, Mario!" Toad said as he shook the plumber.

"Oohhh... my head..."

"We have trouble!"

"Mama mia! Luigi!"

Thus Luigi was fighting the Cyclops solo. Luigi found evading the monster quite difficult until he remembered he had holy water. He threw vials of it at the beast, stunning it for brief periods. He laughed maniacally as he spammed the liquid until his hearts were gone.

Except the Cyclops wasn't quite dead yet.

Now enraged, the Cyclops grabbed Luigi and tried to strangle him, but failed as Mario threw a cross at the beast. Toad then stomped on the beast's head, dealing the final blow to the creature.

At last, the Cyclops was defeated, and burst into flames, turning to ash.

"Now that thing was tough," Toad said.

The group then took time to actually look at the castle. A dark cloud seemed to have taken residence right above the castle, generating lightning. A few ghosts came out of the front door, one of which flew right at Luigi's face.

Luigi was then consumed with fear. What horrors could be in the castle if zombie citizens were laying waste to the town?

"Um... guys... I... think... I'll... be..." Luigi stuttered.

"Now don't tell me you're ditching on us already," Mario responded.

But Mario did not have full time to act before Luigi went AWOL.

"LUIGI!"

"What a coward," Toad remarked.

"Not the bravest sort at all... and he wonders why people make fun of him."

"Well... I guess it's just you and me."

"Yep."

"I... I think something is really, really wrong in here."

"I feel it too. I hope the princess is fine."

"We'd better find out fast."

And thus, the two remaining party members entered the castle, unaware of the dangers ahead.


	3. BLOCK 3: Princess Peach's Castle

**-BLOCK 3: Princess Peach's Castle-**

As they entered, the stepped into the foyer. The room was reminiscent of what it looked like in Super Mario 64: several doors were present throughout the room (although they had more than just portraits on the other side).

The castle foyer was quiet. Too quiet. So quiet, in fact, that nothing was actually there! Except for our heroes, of course.

"Well, this is pretty boring," Toad remarked.

"You would think something would jump out of the darkness five seconds ago," Mario said.

"Well, at any rate, let's go upstairs," Mario said as he went up the small flight of stairs to open the door. Unsurprisingly, the door was locked. The doors to the basement was also locked.

"So much for that. Let's look in these rooms," Mario said as he opened the door to the kitchen. A skeleton in a waiter's uniform quickly responded to their entry by throwing hot curry at them. He was quickly eliminated with a well-used cross.

"Skeletons throwing curry. Odd."

The two searched the kitchen thoroughly, not finding much except for utensils and stored meal ingredients. They did, however, find a Double Shot, which promptly upon use allowed Toad to spam two projectiles at once. He had the stopwatch, however, so he swapped for the holy water that happened to be in the freezer. Oddly, it wasn't frozen.

Mario and company then tried the storage room to the left, which had a key in plain sight. Mario picked up the key, half-expecting to get ambushed. Oddly, nothing was there.

The key was taken down, and the two then moved on to the second floor, which looked more like the one from Paper Mario. The stairs, however, had been destroyed, as if bombs had gone off nearby.

"What happened to the stairs?" Mario said.

"I don't think we can get up there..." Toad said.

And, try as they might, neither could jump high enough to even reach the ledge of the balcony.

"What are we going to do?" Toad inquired.

"I guess we should look around for a solution," Mario answered.

Unlike the last big room, this one actually had monsters. As they actually stepped foot in the room, bats that were on the ceiling came down and ambushed the duo. Ghosts also flew around at a slower pace. The bats were easily killable, but the ghosts appeared to immune to stomping. Mario used a boomerang cross to take them out, but like the zombies, they just kept coming. They fled to the door to the west, which led to the library.

They were immediately greeted by books animated by magic. A quick jump from Mario defeated all of them.

"Well, that was... quite easy," Mario said.

"Hey, Mario... what's that spot in the floor?" Toad asked.

"Looks like a boarded-up hole."

"You would think someone would do a better job of fixing a hole in the floor than nailing boards on top of it."

"Maybe it leads to the basement. We'd be in trouble if the key wasn't in the basement, but at this point it appears to be the only way forward."

"So... how are we going to go through it?"

"I need the Super Boots... with those, I can easily deal with this stuff."

"Let's go look for a pair."

Mario and Toad left the library and entered the center room. It was Peach's bedroom. There didn't appear to be much besides her bed, a chandelier, the guest couch, her dressing room, and her bed. They found nothing except a note under the bed's covers.

"Dear Mario,

As you might expect, Bowser has attacked the town. But now, he appears to have acquired great power. In addition to his normal army, he seems to have gained power over the dead... even resurrecting deceased Toads for his purposes.

I left you Super Boots in the storage room to the east on this floor. Use them to get to the basement and find the High Jump Boots. I don't know where the key is... but hopefully you can find a way out. You'll need the High Jump Boots to get upstairs.

I don't know how long I can keep hiding, so please hurry!

Yours truly,  
Princess Peach Toadstool"

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Mario said.

The group then went to the storage room to the east. A large wooden chest was sitting in the middle. Mario slowly opened the chest, taking the Super Boots.

But as Mario put on the boots, the door slammed shut. Immediately, a large stone Goomba fell through the ceiling.

**-MID-BOSS: GOLEM GOOMBA-**

The Golem Goomba was far more agile than its composure would suggest, promptly hopping several meters in the air to crush Mario. Mario, unwilling to be piledrived into the ground, dodged the crushing blow. The quake generated from its landing caused Toad to lose his footing for a bit, but he recovered as the ground stopped shaking. Both Mario and Toad tried their sub-weapons, but the monster appeared to be resistant to them.

"Wait!" Mario said. "Let me put these boots to use."

The golem tried jumping on the plumber again, but Mario dodged the oversized mushroom. Mario then countered by ground-pounding on the golem's head, creating visible cracks.

The golem was angered, and started to move faster. Mario just rinsed, lathered, and repeated the pattern until the golem split into pieces.

"Well, that was quite simple," Mario noted, then opened the now unlocked door. The two dashed to the library and came to the boarded-up hole. Mario ground-pounded on the boards, causing them to break, and fell through the hole to the basement, with Toad following him.

The two landed in the prison hallway. The mushroom retainers jumped for joy upon seeing their hero.

"Mario's here!" exclaimed one.

"Hey, Mario! Let us out, would ya?" said another.

Finding a key, Mario and Toad unlocked the jail cells, releasing all of the prisoners.

"Master Mario! How pleasant to see you here!" Toadsworth said.

"I'm glad I could be of service," Mario said. "But where is the princess?"

"She went hiding. But a rumor has been going around that she was found and is being held further upstairs."

"Alright. I hope you guys can get out of here safely," Mario said. As he was leaving the room, Toadsworth stopped him.

"Wait! I think you'll be needing these," Toadsworth said as he gave the plumber the High Jump Boots. Seeing that he already had the Super Boots, he gave the new boots to Toad. Thanking him, the two left the prison.

But as they left the prison, he saw the hordes of Koopas, Boos, Skeletons, and... Medusa heads (?) waiting for him.

"This is a problem..." Mario said before he noticed the ? Block far above his head. "Toad, could you hit that block?"

Toad nodded, crouching and charging up the high jump. By the time he was charged, he was glowing. He promptly blasted up high enough to hit the box, freeing two Starmen.

"YES! STARMEN!" Mario shouted with glee. Both of them captured one and _utterly pwned every last monster in the hallway_. The room also had ? Blocks containing some much-needed hearts, and another Double Shot, which Mario took.

At the end of the long hall was the room leading up to the first floor, containing a few Bob-ombs. Carefully avoiding the Bob-ombs, the group came up the stairs to the doors. The jail key, however, would not unlock the doors to the foyer.

"Well, we're stuck..." Mario said.

"I guess our only option is trying to blow it up," Toad said.

Toad then picked up a Bob-omb and threw it at the door, reducing it to splinters scattered about on the foyer floor. With that, Mario and Toad made their way back to the broken staircase. With Toad charging a high-jump, Mario held tight and the two soared over the ledge. They both entered the door, entering a short hallway even more dimly lit than the castle seen thus far. The hall had a small staircase leading up to an ominous-looking door.

There was complete, utter silence.

"This is it," Mario said. "Bowser, we fight again once more!"

Mario then kicked open the door, going into the throne room. The room was almost pitch black.

"How wonderful of you to come here," An oddly sweet voice said. "I've been waiting for you."

"Princess? Is that you?" Mario said.

"Something... isn't right here." Toad said.

Unfortunately, he was right. The lighting improved somewhat, revealing the princess. But upon seeing her, something was very wrong: her skin was deathly pale, and her irises were scarlet red. Her dress was black, and her jewelry appeared to be slightly different in color. As she spoke, one could see long canines inside her mouth.

**The lovable Princess Peach Toadstool had become a feared creature of the night.**

Mario quickly stepped back. His love interest was the last person he would want to fight, and he already had been forced to do it once in _Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door_. Surely this was a bad joke using old candy from _Mario Party 8_! But alas, such a joke would be ill-conceived at a time like this, and Peach was not given to such terrible humor.

"Peach... what happened to you?" Mario said.

"Lord Bowser has been so kind to me... now, with the gift of immortality, I will forever be at his side, ruling all of existence," the vampiress responded.

"Princess, snap out of it! What are you thinking?"

"She's not thinking, that's the problem!" Toad said.

"I was going to offer a high-ranking position to you... but it seems that your hearts are still against the great Lord Bowser.

I'll just have to play with you, then...

_MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!_"

**-BOSS 3: THE VAMPIRE PRINCESS: PEACH-**

It appeared that Peach, such a pure-hearted and kind (albeit stubborn) person, had succumbed to the dark side. The plumber would have to defeat her once again, or become a vampire trying. Willingly joining the forces of evil was _not_ an option.

The princess started the miserable fight by charging straight at Mario for a bite. Mario jumped and attempted to stomp the princess, but found her crown quite sharp, causing him to take damage. He instead tried to pin her down with Toad's assistance, but learned the hard way that vampires were unnaturally strong. Both were sent flying a few feet as the princess regained her footing.

"You'll have to do better than that, Mario!" Peach yelled as she cast a bat made of flame at the plumber. Mario responded with a boomerang cross right up in her face. She teleported behind him and advanced upon him yet again, but Mario jumped just as the cross was coming back, scoring another hit and knocking off the crown. Toad quickly took the time to stomp the princess and steal the crown, leaving her vulnerable.

Mario attempted to stomp her yet again, but the princess teleported and scorched him with a fire bat from behind. She tried to teleport behind Toad and do the same, but Toad turned back and threw a vial of holy water at her.

The princess screamed in pain upon being hit, as vampires are quite vulnerable to holy water. Toad immediately ceased after the first hit. The princess, apparently defeated, collapsed onto the floor.

Mario and Toad slowly crept towards the fallen vampire.

"Princess, are you alright?" Mario despairingly asked.

But the defeat was only a facade, as the princess promptly threw Toad headfirst into the wall, knocking him out cold. Mario jumped to attack, but was grabbed and pinned to the wall only a few yards away from Toad.

"My, what a performance," the princess said with a grin. "But I was only toying with you."

"Peach! Stop!" Mario pleaded.

"So you refuse my offer? Well, I'll give you an offer you can't refuse!" Peach said with a sinister smile.

"NO! PLEASE!"

"Why do you resist so, human?"

"Peach, I know you're in there somewhere! It doesn't make sense to side with Bowser!"

"Know I'm in-what nonsense. And why not?"

"_HE'S KILLING ALL OF YOUR PEOPLE!_ You wouldn't turn on your people like this!"

"They... should... have... urk..."

"Peach! You are in there!"

"Mario... help... Kamek... spell-well, this is unfortunate."

"Kamek! Leave my friend alone!"

"Make me! Too bad you can't, because I'm not even here! I'm using my magic to compel her from far off!"

"What have you done to her?"

"We hoped to make her Our Wretchedness's eternal wife. For some reason, she refused even when Bowser gave her his gift of eternal life."

"For some reason? You idiots are too stupid to realize that she doesn't like him! You must have been born without a brain if you think you can curse her against her will and THEN expect her to cooperate!"

"It works most of the time! But enough talk... I'll just have her take a drink from you..."

"Princess, don't!"

Tried as he might, Mario could not break free from the vampiress under Kamek's control. Peach was only able to keep herself from getting closer.

"Stubborn girl! _Bite him_!" Kamek said.

"NO!" The princess responded. "I don't care what you do to me, I won't touch him!"

Kamek, now enraged, shouted, "Then I'll just have to destroy your mind!"

What thus followed was, from Mario's perspective, a really nasty seizure. What Peach was experiencing, however, was a surreal fight in her own mind with Kamek's influence.

"If you had complied, this wouldn't be necessary." Kamek said.

But Peach responded, "If you filthy beasts hadn't set foot in the Mushroom Kingdom, we would all be just fine! But _noooooo_! Destroy me if you want, but I'm not going to let you have your fun!

"I'm tired of talking. DIE!"

The princess dodged the first magical blast (or whatever it was a metaphor for... but dang, this sure is one heck of a realistic metaphor). An odd ? Block (they pop up in the strangest of places) gave her vegetables. Her version was slower than Toad's, but she had the chance of pulling up rare turnips that did more damage.

She cast one at the cocky Magikoopa, and scored a hit. Knocked off his broom, she proceeded to stomp him before he could recover. Kamek vanished, and teleported behind the princess. However, his teleportation was so slow that she could stomp him yet again. He cast yet more spells, one of which hit and turned her into a literal peach.

"Haha! You finally match your first name!"

The spell was only temporary, as she returned to normal form. Ticked, he did the exact same thing once more, turning her into a catgirl.

"Darned polymorph spells! Do something useful for once!"

"Give me that, nya!" Peach said as she snatched the wand, changing herself back. "... nya? What does that even mean?"

"Give me back my wand!" Kamek said, obviously helpless without it.

"Sure," she said as she broke the wand in two. And thus, the seizure ended.

"Princess, are you alright?" Mario said, consoling her.

"... Define 'alright'," she responded. "It's true... Bowser has gotten his claws on fearsome power... and he used it to change me into this monster you see."

"Princess, don't say that..." Mario responded.

"But it's-"

_**"MARIOOOOOO!"**_

They were then interrupted by Luigi, who in a sudden burst of heroism stormed the castle and broke down the door. He had somehow managed to get to this room.

"Way to suddenly gather your courage, Luigi." Mario mocked.

"... Huh? Wait, what happened to the princess?"

"She's a vampire."

Peach sighed. Mario started counting down the inevitability of his brother cowering in a corner. And, right after he muttered "1", Luigi did so.

"NOOOOO! DON'T SUCK MY BLOOD!" Luigi squealed as he cowered in a corner.

"Typical," Mario said while facepalming.

"I don't blame him..." the princess responded while sniffling.

"It's Luigi. He's afraid of everything. Blame has nothing to do with it," Mario said. "Don't worry, princess, we'll get you back to normal. Luigi, when you're done cowering in that corner, get Toad out of here. We need to find Toadsworth."

Both leaved the throne room while Luigi was still cowering in a corner.

"... Oh. Toad, You there?"

Luigi examined the injured mushroom retainer.

"Seems to be knocked out cold. And the princess is a vampire... I can't believe it. And she showed no agression whatsoever... I might have hurt her feelings... and Mario, so brave...

Who am I to be of the Mario household?"

Luigi pondered how much of an idiot he had been.

"I should apologize to them... but first..."

Luigi took the injured Toad and left.

Meanwhile, Mario and Peach had just gotten to where Toadsworth was in the basement.

"Goodness! I see you defea... wait, princess, why are you so pale?" Toadsworth asked.

Peach fumbled with the proper words to explain the situation, so Mario did instead.

"Yeah, about that... Bowser... turned her."

"WHAT? Turned, as in... made... a... real..."

"Yes."

"This is not good... It is not fit for a vampire to rule the Mushroom Kingdom! It's just too... bizarre!

What a horrible night to have a curse!"

"I think I should give my friend E. Gadd a visit, and see if he can help. And I would like to take the princess with me."

"Take her? To Bowser's castle?"

"Uh... I didn't say that. But I might as well."

"After this? Who knows what unholy evil awaits!"

"I thought you said it wasn't fit for a vampire to rule the Mushroom Kingdom."

"Err... but..."

"I'll go," Peach said.

"But-"

"That's final, Toadsworth."

"Stubborn girl... Fine. But try not to be seen. I don't want the public finding out."

"They would find out eventually. Oh, and I have a hunch that Bowser will be back for his supposed 'love'. Fortify the city as much as possible."

"Yes, Master Mario."

"Now... what are we waiting for?" Mario turned to look at the princess. "Let's-a go."


	4. BLOCK 4: Forever Forest

**-BLOCK 4: FOREVER FOREST-**

After Kamek was fought off, the enemies laying waste to Toad Town suddenly disappeared without a trace. Everyone had locked themselves up in their houses during the invasion and were still afraid to unlock their doors. Well... everyone except the fearful guard blocking passage to Forever Forest.

Presumably, E. Gadd had moved there to study the paranormal activity of the nearby haunted mansion. Though his specialty was on ghosts, he had quite an understanding of supernatural beings. His help would be crucial to finding a cure... or, if that was impossible, coping with a curse that should have consumed Peach's soul.

However, despite being quite fearful, the guard was adamant in keeping people out of the forest, much to Mario's dismay.

"Sorry Mario, but _no one_ is allowed to enter the forest. It's too dangerous!" the guard said.

"We have to visit E. Gadd." Mario replied.

"Sorry, but no. Those are my orders."

"Not even if I change your orders?" the princess said.

"It's for your safety, your hi... **va-va-va-va-vammmppiirree**!" the guard stuttered, stepping backwards until he hit a bush.

"Well, so much for not being seen," Mario said.

"Um... I mean... sure! Go ahead! Mario... uh... your highness... go... ahead... (pleasedonthurtme)"

"Thank you for your understanding! Now, if I may..."

Mario and Peach walked past the guard into the forest. Upon entry, Peach stalled for a bit.

"What's troubling you, princess?" Mario asked.

"So the word is out..." Peach said. She started to notice her increasing thirst. She tried to hide the fact that thoughts of having Italian for dinner were popping into her head.

"I doubt anyone is going to believe him... unless..."

"All guarded entrances to Toad Town now have cameras built-in."

"Crap."

"What will they all think?"

"Well... there's the few scaredy-cats like the guard who shouldn't have been stationed there in the first place...

I think there's going to be quite a bit of shock at first... then it'll die down.

Heck, knowing kids these days, some of them will think you just became cooler."

"But Mario, you're forgetting that vampires drink blood!"

"... Ah."

"Toadsworth was right... it is not meant for a monster to sit on the throne..."

"You keep using that word. Stop it. Just because you follow the definition doesn't mean you have to be monsters about it. You're still my friend.

Besides, you could have just raided the blood bank... provided it wasn't burned down.

We'll do something. Anyway... don't we have someone to find?"

Thus, Mario and Peach continued into the forest. They didn't go far before they were chased by Forest Fuzzies.

"Meoooooork! I will have lunch on your head!" said one of them before latching onto Peach.

"AAAAHH! GETITOFFGETITOFFGETITOFF!" the princess struggled.

"(_Sucking blood from a vampire?_ That's new.)" Mario thought as he rushed to get the thing off.. But the ordeal didn't last long.

"Meooouuugh. You taste terrible," said the hairy leech that was attached to Peach's head. "I'm out of here!"

And so the Forest Fuzzy left, with his comrades behind him. Apparently, that Fuzzy did'nt care for vampire blood.

"Ow, that hurt..." Peach said.

"Well, that worked out nicely," Mario said. "Hmm... well, to get to the mansion (where E. Gadd is near), you have to take the path that's different. Otherwise, you wind up getting lost.

Let's not get lost."

And so, the two continued on. Forest Fuzzies and the local Pirahna Plants proved annoying, but failed to be a real threat.

As they progressed through the maze, They happened to find a few more ? blocks. Peach's sub-weapons were quite different from everyone else: her "fire flower" was the fire bat spell she used while under control. Mario immediately inquired about its nature.

"Um... Peach? Where did you get that ability?" Mario asked.

"I seem to have picked up some magic since I turned. I used it once on Kamek by accident afterward," Peach answered.

And so they continued though the dark forest. Eventually they came upon the sign that pointed to the mansion. The two went through its gates, then took a detour to the left to reach E. Gadd's house.

Mario knocked on the door. After a few seconds, Gadd opened the door.

"Mario! What are doing here this time of night?" the professor said, clothed in bed apparel, but surprisingly alert. "And my, the princess seems rather pale. Are you well?"

"We have a problem, professor," Mario said.

"What is it?"

"Vampirism."

"Wait? Tell me you're joking. Tell me that Peach didn't accidentally consume multiple pieces of _Mario Party 8_ leftovers!"

"It's the real deal."

"... Oh dear."

"Bowser got his hands on some unholy power, and used it to attack the town with a combination of his normal forces and various undead monsters. And he turned the princess."

"How did he..."

"We don't know."

"This is quite unusual... both that Bowser is attacking like this, and that you aren't attacking anyone.

I find this quite fascinating, to be honest. I would love to run some experiments..."

"Well, if it helps with a cure..."

"But first. I believe you are thirsty, are you not?"

Peach was shocked.

"I guess I was right! Lucky you, I figured that in the off-chance someone was turned and didn't want to chow on innocent people, I would keep some in storage."

The professor guided the two to where he stored biological odds and ends. He gave Peach a pint of donated human O-negative blood. Though both Mario and Peach were slightly disgusted, she drank the sanguine liquid.

"Feel better?"

"It tastes like sweet cherries." Peach said disdainfully.

"Now for a physical..."

Gadd took the two to his research room, where he started by taking blood and tissue samples. After that, he started taking tests for pulse, breathing, and... well, basically what happens at a physician check-up.

"Just as I thought... no body temperature regulation and you have no pulse."

"What?"

"Well, vampires are, you know... classified as... well, undead."

"..."

"Would it be better if I said just clinically dead?"

"..."

"Well. However, that doesn't explain why you're breathing."

"Hmm. Maybe it's just the author being symbolic?" Mario asked, looking at the fourth wall.

"... Mario, what are you talking about?"

"Uh... never mind."

"Anyway... don't be so hard on yourself. The ghosts are dead too, and they seem to get along just fine."

"..." Peach remained silent with a look on her face that suggested she wasn't quite comprehending that.

"You know what? Just forget I said anything. Okay?

... Well, since you'll be that way for a while, do you mind if I give you all a summary of my knowledge?"

"Sure, go ahead." Mario said.

"Alright, here's the blunt gist of it.

First, as you know, vampires drink blood. Traditionally, they prey on living humans (or other sapient species), but there hasn't been one willing to experiment with other creatures or donated blood... until now, and hey, it seems to work. You might find the idea disgusting, but unless you want to either waste away or lose what self-control you still have, you'd better get used to it.

Secondly, vampire weaknesses: they spontaneously combust in sunlight. Unless you have really good sunscreen, you must not expose yourself to sunlight. Crossing flowing water is also bad, but that won't instantly kill you. Garlic and holy items... well, don't touch those. There's also stakes and fire, but those will harm normal humans as well as vampires. Silver (particularly blessed silver) is bad if used as a weapon, and your reflection will not appear in mirrors containing silver (which a lot of them do).

However, if you choose to stay like this, you can essentially live forever and enjoy all those cool powers, like transforming into a bat, magic..."

"That'll do..." Peach said.

"I'll work with the samples and see if I can find a cure. Until then, you must cope with this as much as possible.

But heed these words: if finding a cure is impossible, do not forget who your friends are, and what you once were."

"We will always be here for you, princess... even Luigi, when he gets over it," Mario said.

"But please, do cheer up a bit," Gadd said. "You're still you."

"... thank you, guys."

"Now that that ground's all covered-"

But the conversation was ended abruptly when suddenly, a Big Boo manifested before the group, shrieking at the top of its figurative lungs. Everyone was spooked.

"I thought I asked you ghosts to use the door!" Gadd said. "There's no need to pop up like a Giant Space Flea from Nowhere!"

"Fools! Enemies of the Dark Lord will be destroyed!" the giant poltergeist said.

"Uh oh... uh... well... Mario, he's yours!" Gadd said, fleeing into a hidden part of the house.

**-BOSS 4: BIG BOO-**

The sheer size of the ghost made him difficult to avoid. Jumping on it was out of the question. Mario instead resorted to boomerang cross spam, which proved effective. Peach spammed fire bats, which were somewhat less effective.

The ghost responded by ramming the princess, leaving a Peach-shaped imprint in the wall. She wasn't fazed much, though, and continued to spam bats. It was a straightforward and relatively easy fight, with both partners spamming and evading until the boss was sent to the afterlife.

"Too easy," Mario said.

E. Gadd emerged from hiding.

"Indeed," spoke E. Gadd. "Something is amiss... if the spirits are joining Bowser...

I don't know what that King Koopa has in mind, but it certainly isn't good. I'm counting on you guys. I'll be fine here; I designed a force-field to keep out ghosts should they become a problem."

"We won't fail, professor. The good guys always win in the end."

"Wait... how long have you all been up?"

"The whole night."

"You two should rest here. Dawn is approaching fast, and although the forest is dark 24/7, you'll fry if you go any farther. I have guest beds open..."

Mario didn't even notice he was tired until the professor had mentioned staying up. The princess was notably weary as well. The two agreed that a rest would be best, and slept in the cozy guest room. Whereas Mario fell asleep quickly, Peach had the odd feeling that she should be sleeping in a coffin instead. The weariness eventually got to her, though, and she fell into deep sleep.

* * *

But within that sleep was a nightmare. In this hellish dream, the princess saw herself not so far in the future as a world dictator. The entire world was plunged into darkness. Those who were alive served as slaves to exalt her greatness, and those who were dead served as her army. Bowser was nowhere to be seen, because she had killed him in order to take the world wholly for herself. The enslaved even worshiped her as a god. To amuse herself in her eternal life, she pitted slaves against her soldiers and watched the bloodshed for entertainment.

When she started her campaign to take over the galaxy, Rosalina finally took notice, was grieved for not noticing earlier, and made an attempt to talk some sense into the child of darkness.

"You dare enter my throne room unannounced?" Future Peach bellowed. "How utterly disrespectful!"

"Why should I respect a power-hungry fool who made the whole world population her slaves?"

"Hah. You're a fool if you think you can stand against me!"

"I guess Mario is a fool, too. Too dumb to live... that is right, isn't it Peach? You hoped to convert him to your cause, but Mario chose to be a hero to his bitter end... when you publicly executed him."

"Grrr..."

"What? Did I just strike a chord? You didn't _want_ to kill him, did you? But you cared nothing for what he said. You didn't _truly_ love him. You thought you could seduce him to the dark side. You thought you could use him. But you couldn't, so you hanged him. You've gone from kind princess to a _soulless, cold-blooded abomination."_

"WHY, YOU! I'LL RIP THE STAR BITS OUT OF YOU!"

"Or die trying. It's time I put Mario's mourning soul to rest."

* * *

The princess awoke from her dream, scared to... well, you get the idea. She started to ponder what she had just dreamed. She had managed to keep her soul from being consumed... but how long would that last?

Thoughts drifted to what E. Gadd had said the previous night. She could not comprehend that she, in her current state, was technically dead. She felt fine (although recalled being cold during the turning process), and everything seemed to function properly from what she could see except for her pale skin.

She then thought about the weaknesses. Sunlight? Now that just _sucked_. Most of the exciting things happened during the day. Garlic? She could cut that out of her diet, though oddly she hadn't felt all that hungry since her turning. Stakes? Having that driven through the heart would kill anyone. Flowing water? Well, okay. It's not like she'd be swimming in a river anytime soon, and as long as she wasn't actually immersed in the water...

She realized that she hadn't bathed. Getting up from bed, she searched the house and found him in his research room. After getting permission, she spent a few minutes in the shower. Strangely, she felt slightly compelled to count the number of holes on the shower head. The thought of someone with a certain fetish possibly enjoying her in the shower came to her mind, which she found disgusting.

The shower complete, she dressed and took time to look in the bathroom's large mirror. Not even her shadow was visible. She then looked in the mirror above the sink. As it coincidentally wasn't silver-based, she could see her reflection. For the first time, she stared into her own scarlet irises. She didn't look as fearsome as she thought. In fact, the fangs looked somewhat cute. But remembering their purpose.

Finishing up, she left the bathroom and asked E. Gadd what time it was.

"It's 4:00 PM," E. Gadd said. "It shouldn't be long before you two can leave."

Mario, who had gotten up during her shower, came into the room.

"Good thing you could join in, Mario. I need to give you two something."

The professor handed the plumber a torn piece of parchment.

"Looks like... a piece of a treasure map?"

"I have a hunch it's very important. If you happen to find the other pieces of the parchment, you should search for the treasure."

"Right. Anyway, thanks for your help."

"Now before you go, you two should eat something."

E. Gadd proceeded to serve them dinner (Peach, though not really hungry, did enjoy the meal), then saw them on their way.

"Beyond the Gusty Gulch is the Choco Mountain, then the Mushroom Kingdom Sea. Move quickly and you should reach Dark Land before dawn."


End file.
